The Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross are a longstanding ritual in Christian tradition. To walk these stations is to take part in the final hours of Jesus’ earthly life, toward the cross, and eventually from mourning and grief to the joy of Easter. These stations presented in this series intentionally depict the ways in which Jesus’ passion connects us to the suffering of creation. Made from found objects, these nine biblically-attested stations were prayerfully created by students and faculty of Vanderbilt Divinity School.

In many traditions, there are fourteen stations that depict Jesus’ suffering and death. There are nine stations depicted here. Stations depicting Jesus’ three falls, meeting his mother, and the station depicting Veronica wiping Jesus’ face are not visually represented. Rather, as you meditate on these nine stations, we ask that you always keep these events in view.

We recall in following his torturous path that we are all a part of his story, taking part in his suffering and inflicting wounds alike. We take stock of the many ways that we have broken covenant with God and have acted selfishly, rather than in compassion and loving kindness toward creation. To commemorate the event of Christ’s passion, the stations serve as visual reminders to incite us to grief, repentance, and redemption.

With each station, we ask that you consider a specific theme in ecological theology.

We encourage you to follow through these stations in this online format. Below is a list of all the stations represented here. At the end of each station, there will be a link to guide you to the next station.

(All station artwork was produced by members of the Vanderbilt Divinity community from found and reclaimed objects. Liturgy adapted from St. Brendan the Navigator Episcopal Church, Stonington, Maine, 1993. The original version of this liturgy can be found at earthministry.org)